A sample size of 3 does not constitute statistical significance. Glad you guys got lucky, but I've been the gear repair trenches for nigh on 25 years and have worked on a few and seen a number of broken ones out there for sale, to the point where I've made a mental note of it.

I've had 2 V4s and 2 VT22s and to be fair, a couple of them were fine. Another was a basket case and I rebuilt the whole thing and put in KT88s. It's now owned by an awesome local guitarist, who AFAIK hasn't blown it up, and every time I see him I hope he doesn't tell me it blew up. I have a V4 in my basement that needs two transformers and a full rebuild and I've never gotten around to it.

I think a lot of these amps found themselves in the 1990s for sale for $200 or less and at that point weren't worth the maintenance costs and were suffering from 20 years of neglect. Since then, people have gotten hip to them and give them some love.

I've got a plastic knob V4B that was trouble for years. Had it worked on by multiple techs, and finally it just sat unused for a decade. Got it fixed up a year and a half ago and it seems fine, but I feel like I should just sell it before it gives me trouble again, and tbh I prefer my Meatsmoke or Bassman sound wise.

Nate Dort wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 12:06 pm A sample size of 3 does not constitute statistical significance. Glad you guys got lucky, but I've been the gear repair trenches for nigh on 25 years and have worked on a few and seen a number of broken ones out there for sale, to the point where I've made a mental note of it.

So you’re saying they’re pieces of shit that always break?

LBx wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:38 am I *just* missed TS 25B combo at $60 so... a second chopped down to a head has got to be worth throwing a $100 at, ya?


Even my TS 10 sounded oddly great, tiny speaker aside, before it went kaput.

I would definitely do a $100 for that one. I also have a closet of broken Traynor TS amps, but they’re a lot of fun.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 1:31 pm

LBx wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:38 am I *just* missed TS 25B combo at $60 so... a second chopped down to a head has got to be worth throwing a $100 at, ya?


Even my TS 10 sounded oddly great, tiny speaker aside, before it went kaput.

I would definitely do a $100 for that one. I also have a closet of broken Traynor TS amps, but they’re a lot of fun.

Funnily enough he went to turn it on for a once over before we met and the thing is broken... [/facepalm]

Hopefully he tunes it up and gets back.

I too have observed many broken V4s, v4bs and my own G-20 that has board mounted tube sockets and big ass resistors mounted to thin-ish traces that have lifted from heat

Garth wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 10:30 am

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 10:07 am

tommy wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:27 am
Hard disagree on that. I played and gigged with a V4 for almost 10 years with the original power tubes. Head was used about 7 hrs a week. Had zero issues other than the standby LED going dark (which required me replacing 1 resistor). Least maintenance of any tube amp I’ve ever owned. Has two others as well that were also maintenance free (though played less).

Yeah me too. I played a V4B for a long time and have an Ampeg V2 still and they don’t require any more maintenance than anything else I’ve got. Maybe they suck to fix but between using the two amps for years and years I don’t think any of them have needed that much service. They do sound like god though, except the V4B (not V4) doesn’t work very well for guitar.

Yep, one more dissenter here. I'm wondering if the later versions were better build & more reliable. I have only experience w/ the master volume or "magnavox" black-lined versions. The only issues w/ mine (and ugh I have 3) are the reverbs not working which hasn't really been an issue for me. I trot one out for use at the Campout every year as well as occasional blasting room use just for grins when I feel my tinnitus isn't loud enough to crowd out my thoughts.

I didn't own it, but I played a friends V4B for about 5 years in the 90s. We did nothing to it but practice with it, load it in, load it out and - obviously - rock, Never once had a problem with it, and it got a lot of work during that time.

I and my bandmates went through an ampeg phase in the late 90s early 00s too, and I can say that they were definitely hit or miss for us.

One master-volume-era / pre distortion channel V4 was seemingly indestructible, a top-mount VT40 was a total lemon and stumped multiple techs. An alu-knob one broke on tour a few times and was replaced by a Monoblock. There was a dist-knob VT22 that sparked. There was a V9 in there too at one point that was fussy but seemed to get the job done.

I think there's a whole generation of bands that probably have PTSD from hearing that particularly piercing constant shock-mounted rattle of a V4 in the back of their van.

Loved seeing Hammerhead BitD when Paul and Paul were both playing V4s. Great grind on the bass, and a cranked V4 on guitar sounds like a nuclear assault on an erupting volcano.

Fuck, now I want to rebuild my basket-case V4, thanks everyone.